DAVIS, Calif. — The early portion of beach season for Saint Mary's saw a lot of 3-2 decisions go against the Gaels. Saint Mary's proved they could hang with some of the best programs in the country, but kept falling one match short. On Sunday afternoon, the Gaels were able to change the narrative, winding up the right side of a 3-2 decision, this time over UC Davis, who beat SMC 3-2 in early March. After the big win for the Gaels, they improve to 6-5 and have now won four of their last five decisions.
 
The day began in successful fashion for the Gaels, who took the first matchup of the afternoon over UC Davis in the twos, as Chandler Cowell and Elena Baka continued to look strong. Cowell and Baka went through Jane Seslar and Madelin Smith in a 21-18 and 21-17 fashion, scoring their sixth win of the season in eight matches together. The Aggies got back even, though, in the fours, when Karmin Brown and Madison Baumann were defeated in three sets, with a 15-10 final in the deciding set.
 
Saint Mary's pulled one step closer to victory in the fives, when Morgan Kendrick and Jennifer "Boo" Laird scored their team-best seventh win of the season by sweeping past the Aggies in 21-10 and 21-15 scores. The top pairing for SMC, Alexsa "Crash" Parker and Hawley Harrer, have been consistently strong all season and often fight through adversity, and almost did so again on Sunday, but dropped a third set decision 15-13 to force the overall score even at 2-2.
 
Jasmin Suarez and Sienna Young were able to clinch it for Saint Mary's in the final match of the afternoon, escaping the first set in a nail-biter, with a 24-22 win, before a less-stressful second set win of 21-14. It was their second win of the season in the threes, and fifth overall, standing on Sunday as the clinchers. The Gaels were also winners in both exhibitions that took place after, with Selbie Christensen and Makenna Joyce winning 21-16 and 21-11 in the sixes, and Aeriel Sundt and Trinity Durfee winning 21-15 and 23-21 in the sevens.
 
RESULTS
(1) Paloma Bowman/Colleen McGuire (UCD) def. Alexsa "Crash" Parker/Hawley Harrer (SMC) 10-21, 21-16, 15-13
(2) Chandler Cowell/Elena Baka (SMC) def. Jane Seslar/Madelin Smith (UCD) 21-18, 21-17
(3) Jasmin Suarez/Sienna Young (SMC) def. Megan Luly/Heather Reed (UCD) 24-22, 21-14
(4) Ashlee Goycoochea/Alicia Letvin (UCD) def. Karmin Brown/Madison Baumann (SMC) 21-12, 16-21, 15-10
(5) Morgan Kendrick/Jennifer "Boo" Laird (SMC) def. Summer Bouquet/Alexa Rockas (UCD) 21-10, 21-15
 
Order of Finish: 2, 4, 5, 1, 3

LAIRD DECLARES
"Great win for the Gaels today against UC Davis! Even the pairs that fell short fought hard and took the Aggies to three sets which shows how each pair could have won that match for us. We are all excited to take on the Aggies again this coming Thursday at home for our Senior Night!" - Jennifer "Boo" Laird
 
UP NEXT
Saint Mary's and UC Davis will duel again on Thursday afternoon, with the location shifting to Moraga as the Gaels host the Aggies. It will serve as the final home match of the season for Saint Mary's, and will get underway at 4:00 pm. During the weekend, Saint Mary's will take part in the Stanford Invitational.